“Comprehensive LMS’s can further help support and optimize mobile learning” (Jacobs et al., 2017).
What is driving demand for Mobile LMS?
The driving demand for Mobile LMS is basic consumer behaviour and the ability to be connected while on the go. Being mobile is an experience; they are personal, always ‘on’ and accessible 24/7 (Docebo, 2014). Considering two-thirds of the world’s population is now connected by mobile devices (GSMA, 2017), companies leading the way in LMS are now creating platforms specifically designed to be mobile friendly. With over 700 LMS solutions available on the market, the leading LMS industries, in order, are Education, Technology, Manufacturing and Healthcare (iSpring, 2016).
Mobile LMS platforms are becoming increasingly popular in the K-12 education for both teachers and students. This is due to the new BYOD market as well as many other advantages surrounding the idea of proactively managing the teaching and learning experience. Some of the advantages the K-12 classroom would receive from using a mobile LMS is the consolidation of resources for students, builds and simplifies lessons, makes administrative tasks easier (ie. grading and tracking performance), involves parents and offers access anytime, anywhere (Lexia, 2018).
5 Must-Haves in Mobile LMS:
The ability to sync with a smartphone or other mobile device
Support for offline learning
Job aids for just-in-time learning
Push notifications for the mobile workforce
QR code capabilities
Mobile Responsive Design LMS vs. Mobile LMS Apps: What's the Difference?
Responsive Design
“Responsive design means that the LMS “senses” and automatically adjusts the display to the individual user’s device and browser window size” (Leh, 2014). This design is particularly popular because of its capability to work on any device, including all mobile devices.
Considering the exponential growth of the mobile learning industry in recent years, both of these mobile friendly LMS designs would be considered before adoption and weighed based on their accessibility, simplicity and features. According to the pie charts, LMS vendors still have a long ways to go in making something for everyone in the mobile LMS responsive design and app market.
Apps
“LMS Apps, especially native ones, make the best use of the power and ubiquity of mobile device and the huge flexibility and try to provide a rich experience and efficiency. Apps add to the enhancements and conveniences of the existing functionality. Then, of course, this approach includes the generic web apps that work on any smart device (without downloads) and there are platform-specific ‘native’ downloadable apps for Android, Apple, Windows, and Blackberry. Native apps provide the advantage of touch and swiping technology and make good use of the innate capabilities of the device like location awareness, phone, camera, and texting” (Gautam, 2018).
Main Competitors and Features in the LMS and Mobile LMS Market
The Education industry is identified as the current largest market for both LMS and mobile LMS. The Education mobile LMS market is broken into three categories; K-12 education, higher education and corporate education. Below is a list of the leading LMS platforms for each with an emphasis on the features of the K-12 LMS.
K-12: Moodle, Canvas, Google Classroom, Schoology
Higher Education: Canvas, Blackboard Learn, D2L Brightspace, Moodle
Corporate Education: D2L Brightspace, Canvas
Please watch the following market leader videos.
All Videos
Schoology Introduction
What is Google classroom?
